A good and very early morning to everyone following along back home in the USA. Peter Della Penna here in Rathmines, a southern area of Dublin, where USA and PNG will be squaring off at Leinster Cricket Club. It's a wonderful facility. I would argue it's more impressive than Clontarf CC was and that's the ICC ODI approved ground.

The news here is that there is a very annoying spitting rain at the ground. The USA team is warming up on the outfield but the covers are still on the pitch. We're not going to start on time here and the umpires have said that they will have an inspection at 10:30, about 15 minutes from now. USA lost a very exciting game yesterday by 1 wicket to Ireland while PNG lost by 89 runs to Namibia yesterday. 

 The pitch inspection has been delayed because the rain is coming down pretty strong at the moment. We're going to be in for a long delay here. This match is definitely going to be reduced, if it gets started at all. Typical Irish/English day. This won't be the last match during the tournament for USA that will have overs reduced.

USA's players are inside the pavilion making themselves cups of tea and coffee and eating cookies that are laid out. There are a few parents here as well. Abhijit Joshi's dad, Salman Ahmad's family, Trevor Singh's parents and Mital Patel's dad have all made the trip here to support their kids and the entire team.

 The third umpire has just informed us that the plan is for lunch to be brought forward to 12:45, which is still an hour and 45 minutes away, in order to shoot for a 1:15 start in a reduced match. It's looking like we may get to start eventually, but that's still a long ways away.  The heavy rain has stopped, but it's still spitting a little bit. The covers are firmly in place and the parents and club members have entered the pavilion bar to start watching the second Test between England and India.

 The covers have been taken off the field here and the USA players are beginning to warm up. Not sure what the status is on whether or not they're still going to take that early lunch or whether they will look to play the first innings before taking the interval but play looks set to start here sometime in the next hour. The initial word from the umpires was early lunch and a 1:15 start though.

Peter, whats the info I need to update the scoreboard - lol.  Hard lost yesterday but from you post - it seems the West Indies U19 did help prepare them for putting up a good fight instead of what we had witness

 Change of plans and a good one it appears. Lunch has been moved to 4 pm. The umpires are shooting for a 1 pm start and have reduced the overs to 43 a side. Power plays will be 9, 4 and 4. We should be underway in about 25 minutes. Waiting for the toss.

 USA has won the toss and elected to field first.

USA XI: Sewdial (captain), Taylor (wk), Mirza, Persaud, Joshi, Suri, Jodhbir Singh, Shahid, Ahmad, Abdulghani, Patel.

Hammad Shahid has come into the USA lineup today in place of Gurpreet Sandhu. Prashanth Nair and Trevor Singh sit out for the second day in a row. 

PNG XI: Kent (captain), Dogolo Bau (wk), Siaka, Haoda, Nao, Amini, Maha, Tom, Boge, Sese Bau, Vanua. 

Henao Geita, Gia Kelly and Vagi Oala are the three sitting out. 

 It's pretty damn cold out there. Some of the USA players have long sleeve Under Armour shirts or Skins underneath their jerseys, but no one really has official outer vests to keep warm. Some other USA players are braving it in short sleeves. The bell has just been rung, 5 minute warning, a lovely British tradition. The umpires are walking out to the field. We're getting closer to the start.

 Lega Siaka to open on strike for PNG, Charles Amini off strike. Siaka right hand bat, very diminutive in size, facing Salman Ahmad bowling right arm fast medium from the Mount Pleasant/Western side of the ground, over the stumps with two slips in place. Dot, good length ball left outside off. Dot, full on the legs, defended to midwicket. Dot, fullish length outside off, goes to defend and is beaten. Dot, short of a length on the stumps, defended on the back foot to gully where Abdulghani is fielding with a vest that has no number. FOUR! Short and wide, Siaka goes to cut and slashes it over the slips wide of Hammad Shahid who is fielding very square at third man and that's the first runs of the day. Dot, good length ball outside off, Siaka goes back to defend and it goes past the edge. PNG 4/0 in 1.

Looking forward to some cricket today!

USA!!  USA!!

 Hammad Shahid to open from the Rathmines/Eastern End, right arm fast medium over the wicket to the left hand batsman Charles Amini. Two slips in place, no gully. Wide, short and well outside off. Dot, full and defended to the bowler. Dot, full on the stumps, defended on the back foot to Shahid. Dot, very full outside off, Amini goes to drive without moving the feet and is beaten, appeal from Taylor behind but the umpire shakes him off. Roger Dill from Bermuda is standing at the Rathmines End. Two, full on the stumps, driven to Persaud at mid on and he slips and falls, letting the ball go through him, Siaka alertly calls for a second and Persaud threw to the wrong end. Shahid is not amused. Dot, full outside off, left alone at the last moment. Leg bye, full toss on the hips, Amini tried to pull and misses as it goes off his pads to fine leg. PNG 8/0 in 2.

 Ahmad to Amini. Single, short outside off, Amini plays it late and wide of Sewdial at second slip down to Persaud at third man. Wide, short and down leg. Single, short on the body, tapped into the off side and he bolts for a run. Jogging my memory from the qualifier in Canada two years ago, PNG is superb between the wickets, lightning quick at stealing runs inside the circle and turning twos into threes in the outfield. Leg bye, short on the legs, goes to flick and misses, Siaka calls Amini through for another very sharp run. Dot, full and defended. FOUR! Full outside off, the little man Siaka drives beautifully through the covers and Jodha Singh has no chance stopping it. Short boundary on the north side of the ground. Dot, good length outside off, left alone. PNG 16/0 in 3. Siaka 9, Amini 3.

Correction, the southern square boundary is the short one. Shahid to Amini. Five wides, full and very wide outside off, Taylor can't reach and Joshi leaps out of the way instead of stopping it at first slip as it goes for five wides. Joshi now moves into short cover with Sewdial now the lone slip. Wide, short outside off, too far again. Slight delay here as they're trying to wipe the ball off for Shahid to get a better grip. Dot, full outside off, very wide and left alone, lucky not to be called another extra. Single, full outside off, Amini gives a limp attempt at a drive and the ball goes off a thick edge toward third man. Dot, good length ball left outside off. Dot, good length ball left outside off. Wide, short and down leg. FOUR! Short of a length on off, punched off the back foot in front of point and it bounces away to the northern square boundary. Dot, yorker speared into the legs, bottom edge saved him. PNG 28/0 in 4. Siaka 13, Amini 4. USA has already conceded more extras than they did all of yesterday. 11 extras, 9 wides when USA only had 7 extras, 6 wides for the entire match against Ireland.

C'mon boys.  Tighten it up.  No need to give them freebees.

USA!!  USA!!